Saturday, December 29, 2012

I hope you are enjoying a lovely holiday weekend!
We celebrated Christmas Eve in German way... cooking special 3-course dinner for Christmas Eve (thank you Frido!), opening gifts before the dinner with a bell... then enjoying the lingering Christmas air for the rest of night...

We took a few test photos using a vintage SX-70 Polaroid camera we purchased for my little sister! We were pretty happy that the camera actually worked (you never know for the e-bay purchase, right??) but also the quality of films from the Impossible Project!

No... they are not photo perfect pictures but there is something about its quality, the conscious effort we have to make in order to take a good picture because each film counts..., and the anticipation of the film development process... So opposite of our digital cameras!

Friday, December 21, 2012

Now that most of the holiday shopping has finished for my customers, things around the house is starting to get quieter. In Japan the end of the year is dedicated to a closure (massive cleaning of the house is involved)... while it seems to be all about family and celebration in the U.S.

I am little bit stuck in between. A part of me wants to finish wrapping special gifts for the family... and other part of me wants to clean and organize.

This makes me get nothing done... so this year I am just slowing down and tackling what I can do... as I feel like it... and tell myself that is enough. Rest of the day is simply saved for Roo and FB and that just feels perfect.

I want to send a special thank you to my lovely customers who kindly thought of Baum-Kuchen as a place to order important gifts for loved ones. Holiday season is busy time for us but it always makes me so happy to hear stories about how these items will create such a special meaning when they are opened. So thank you and thank you:)

We will be making another shipment tomorrow for all orders taken between Wednesday till today and will take a few days off till December 28th to enjoy the company of family, the love and our sacred rituals to get ready for the end of year. I might blog here and there to share some updates... we'll see.

I wish everyone a very special weekend and Christmas for those who celebrate the occasion. May the following days filled with warmth and love from inside...

As newly parents (well... sort of. We're 2.5 year in!), we struggled to find a good solution to track our Roo's growth. We have all white wall house (now marked with some crayons here and there... but still white!) and we just couldn't dare writing with a permanent marker on our wall. So we have been borrowing the wall at my parents' house since they already had markings for my youngest sister. Unfortunately..., my family moved often so my parents have no records of my growth.

So we figured..., we would design our own. A simple and beautiful measuring stick that can seamlessly become a part of the house yet can be moved from one house to another when a family relocates as kids grow.

We've been marinating ideas for months before we stumbled upon a simple discoveries. The German measuring stick which is used as a common ruler in Germany actually has a perfect collapsible mechanism! So while we were in Germany in September, we contacted a few local factories to ask for samples. After reviewing multiple sticks, we have agreed that one stood out from the rest. Their measuring stick had the best craftsmanship in details, consistent wood grains and used brass hinges instead of plastic ones. So we started back and fourth communication with the factory to produce measuring sticks without any measurement markings!

We completed the design with top and bottom nail holes.

Of course we had to test out our sample with Roo and she loved it! Now that we have "her" Life's Journey on a wall, she goes back to the spot and asks us to measure her at least once a week:)

Thursday, December 20, 2012

My birthday came and went last weekend. My own birthday... these days... seems less important than it used to be (I guess we realize that the world does not evolve around us when we grow up) but it was still so nice to feel little special:) My girlfriend gave me celebrations throughout the week... and FB and Roo made it extra special for me on the day.

I am thankful for the year that passed. For the special time with my family... and the health and wellness. I am also grateful for the whole new year to look forward to. I know that it will be packed with new adventures and lessons.

Monday, December 10, 2012

I hope you enjoyed your weekend! Ours was ups and downs... Downs mostly came from us getting sick... I woke up with a scratchy sore throat on Saturday morning which made me stay in bed most of Saturday... then Roo got a painful ear infection symptom on Sunday afternoon which was even more painful to watch.

Thankfully..., she woke up this morning with a smile and a sunshine song and was ready to go to school so a dreadful visit to a doctor's office has been avoided so far. I hope all our family and friends get some break from December cold/flu that is going around here!

Between all that, we managed to squeeze some fun holiday prep time! Tree picking (which I missed because I was in bed), decoration and cookie making with our friends!

Our tree is quite modest in the shiny department... but I love how each ornament has so much meaning to us... It just feels like us:)

And I am so happy that our brave friend had two toddlers make cookies!! Flour everywhere on the kitchen floor!!! Although, after 30 minutes of little ones plus mamas trying and (and mostly ending with error), the dad took over and finished them beautifully. I am glad he came along with us:) What do we do without papa, right?

The shop is really busy with everyone finishing up with their holiday shopping! If you are planning to still get some items for gifts, please please order soon!! I will do my best to get them to you and your loved ones as quickly as possible once order is placed... but there are simply some stuff I might not be able to change with a magic wand!

p.s. check out Roo's outfit on the first photo!!! I have very little saying in what she wears these days...; thus, a mixture of everything thrown into one look! I am just happy that she is warm enough.

Friday, December 7, 2012

We fell in love with these paper strings wrapped around the beautiful
vintage braider's
bobbins when we stumbled upon a very small stationery store while we were traveling Berlin. We knew instantly..., that they will make such a nice addition to our shop. The combination of the bright and vibrant colors with rustic bobbins... I can stare at them all day long.

They come from the passionate textile designer of PaperPhine in Vienna, Austria and I am thrilled to share some of our favorite colors with you!

I know we are getting really really close to Christmas. If you are looking for something to wrap your gifts or to give as a unique and unusual (and colorful!) present to someone special, please take some time to browse the collection:)

Thursday, December 6, 2012

We are so happy to be able to continue with our yearly advent calendar tradition thanks to Roo's grandmother Omi in Germany. She packed all the bags with something special... and send them all the way to Los Angeles from Germany!

This year we found a horizontal spot above our 'unused' fire place. Since Roo is learning "numbers" right now, we decided to hang the pouches (which are happily recycled from last year's advent calendar!) in random order instead of numerical sequent so that Roo can look for the number of the day.

I love how she wakes up every morning, shouts the number and rushes to the living room. So magical and so special...

We are keeping holiday decoration to minimum but this surely adds a lovely touch to our home:)

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Few days ago I was cleaning my desk and found this Traveler's Notebook I used from 2008-2009!

Oh my... I couldn't believe how much thoughts and inspiration I collected... It took me a while to recognize that it was actually me who put together this book.

I think this documented year was the most intense year for me in some way... I was commuting weekly between LA and Seattle, FB and I traveled quite a bit and most importantly it was a year when I had a lot of time to myself even between busy days at work.

This was the year when the idea of Baum-Kuchen crystallized in my mind on an airplane ride home from Seattle to LA... (though it took another whole year and a baby to execute the idea into a reality).

When I found the notebook, I sat down and read through all the notes I jotted down. It's a messy book... very raw and in a way honest and pure but I was really glad that I had some record of what I was thinking back then. Unfortunately I barely have time these days to put together a thought on this blog. Life has been quite full with shop, motherhood... and simply caring for my health and wellness. But maybe... (and maybe) I can start a new book to pour my thoughts in.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

eating lots of homemade Japanese food by mom
drinking freshly squeezed permanganate juice every morning... and foo Roo to be able to say the big word!
seeing Roo play and interact with the family
visiting our favorite beach
spending a morning at a petting zoo
eating brunch...